STC Caring News: January 2019

Issue 9 - Jan 2019

Welcome to the STC's Caring News

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to everyone who made a donation to ShareTheCaregiving this past year. We are truly grateful for your support as it allowed us to make a great deal of progress over the last six months of 2018 as we met our goal to present at a number of important conferences to expand STC’s reach into new areas. These were:

The 2018 Planetree International Conference on Person-Centered Care – Boston
The NYS Lifespan Respite and Sustainability Summit – Albany
Third Annual National Caregiving Conference – Chicago (I received Visionary Award)
18^th National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence LeadershipConference on Aging – Boston

It’s only January and we have been accepted to present at two upcoming conferences:

The 2019 National Lifespan Respite Conference – Bufalo, NY
The 2019 Aging in America Conference – New Orleans, LA.

Stay tuned for more exciting things to come.

ANOTHER HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all the caregivers (young and old) around the world (unpaid, paid, and the professionals) who are helping others through a health, medical or aging challenge. And BRAVO to all who are providing support to people impacted by the seemingly endless natural disasters: fires, floods, blizzards, and earthquakes. Or perhaps you’ve given a hand to people laid off as a result of the government shut down or those who are homeless.

Your every act of kindness is steering our world back on track. Even an hour of your time or a word of encouragement is making a profound difference to someone. Keep in mind that…

The man (or woman) who moved a mountain is the one who

started taking away the small stones. Old Chinese Proverb

~ Sheila

THE 2018 AARP PURPOSE PRIZE AWARDS

I n March 2018, I received word that my nomination for a Purpose Prize was in the running. There were, however, many levels to pass through to make it to the honor of becoming an AARP Purpose Prize Winner or Fellow. Over the next six months, I was asked to submit narratives, respond to in-depth questions, provide personal recommendations, and do an hour-long telephone interview. In September, I was thrilled to learn that I had been chosen one of ten 2018 Purpose Prize Fellows and together with five Purpose Prize Winners, we made up the AARP Purpose Prize Class of 2018.

Our class will be meeting throughout 2019 and will benefit from immediate and long-term supports from AARP. In fact, in November we were invited to Washington, D.C. to meet each other as well as the AARP team members who will be working directly with us. We could not have received a more warm, inspiring and informative welcome!

The 2018 Purpose Prize Award Fellows

The Awards ceremony held, on December 5 ^th , at The United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. was amazing. The Institute is a spectacular venue as you can see from the above and below photos.

The evening started off with a small gathering for all the winners, AARP Board members and special guests. Then, we moved down to another level for a large cocktail party with many more guests who came to help us celebrate. I invited our STC Volunteer Administrator, Phyllis Waisman, as my special guest. Without her ongoing dedication, joyful energy and support, I could never have accomplished half of what I have been able to do. AARP also allowed me to extend an invitation for my nieces, Julie Utano and Wendy Holmvik, who live in the D.C./VA. area. After a couple of glasses of a very fine Chardonnay we descended the stairs for dinner and the awards program.

As 2018 happened to be AARP’s 60 ^th Anniversary CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, in her opening remarks, set the tone for the evening by reminding us of the words of AARP’s founder:

"The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself that we truly live. We learn the inner secret of happiness when we learn to direct our inner drives, our interest and our attention to something outside ourselves ." Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus

Following Ms. Jenkins remarks we viewed a video message from one of the Purpose Prize judges, CEO of the Sherry Lansing Foundation, Ms. Lansing herself.

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Pulitzer Prize Winner and columnist, Clarence Page. The evening’s special guest, Doris Kearns Goodwin, is a world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author. All the winners were all gifted with copies of Jenkin’s book “Disrupt Aging” and Goodwin’s book “Leadership in Turbulent Times.”

Left to right: Doris Kearns Goodwin, CEO Jo Ann Jenkins and Clarence Page

The celebration closed with a video recognition of all the Fellows (see below) followed by a panel, videos and presentation of the award to the five Winners. The Fellows video below gave us each an opportunity to speak to what drives us to do the work we have chosen or that has chosen us.

Sheila Warnock - AARP - 2018 - Purpose Prize Fellows

Clicking on the above image will take you to YouTube to view this AARP Award Winners Video

Click here for the press release listing the Winners/Fellows and their respective organizations.

“Don’t Give Up”

Share The Care™ comes to the Finger Lakes in New York

By Sharon Cackett

Sheila and Sharon Cacket Education and Outreach Specialist, NYSRCC managed by Lifespan

“Don’t give up.” That was one important take-away from an all-day training led by Sheila Warnock in September. Her audience was a collective of social workers, case managers, community members, faith leaders and many others who came together to learn about the evidence-informed Share The Care™(STC) model that provides a step-by-step plan to mobilize support for caregivers and individuals who need help, and importantly, some respite.

This one-day training was made possible through the Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center (FLGEC) and the New York State Caregiving and Respite Coalition (NYSCRC) managed by Lifespan of Greater Rochester . Honing in on the FLGEC region meant that 17 counties, many which are rural and have limited resources, become more connected with a new network of professionals and non-professionals adding a powerful model to their toolbox. FLGEC 's mission is to improve the health care delivered to older adults through enhanced geriatric education of health professionals and their caregivers

NYSCRC will support those who were walked through the steps needed to start a Share The Care™ group and techniques to coach someone through this approach by ongoing support and continued training. There are plans for NYSCRC to create a “STC station™” for trained coaches, and to host a second day of training focused on western New York.

Participants, following the training were enthusiastic and shared their perspectives about why the STC model is valuable. Among the comments were these:

“The knowledge of how this (model) works can save people money, which is often the barrier to proper care, and it seems like this is a way to include more socialization in the process for the care recipient.”

“The most uncomfortable part (of the training) for me–the group exercise–was most enlightening; it showed me my expectations and how they might differ from those of others.”

“I realize that I had read the (STC) book years ago but my pastoral focus was elsewhere–GOD’s timing is always right-on and going through this training with others was wonderful. I hope to be a part of passing this on and helping others implement this extraordinary ministry.”

One table of participants traveled together from Ithaca to attend this program. They had used the model in their community twice before. The first time was a success. The second time wasn’t as helpful as they hoped. They attributed it to resistance to accepting help on the part of the person whom they were hoping to assist.

Sheila pointed out that this is not an unusual occurrence, as many people are reluctant to accept help right away. Professionals may need to try several different approaches to introduce this model to a reluctant person. It is not easy giving up some control, independence and privacy even though it can make a profound difference on a caregiver’s own health. So it was reinforced, throughout the day, to make sure the group members and the caregiver understand that a group is not meant to try to take over, but rather (think person-centered care) that the group will take its cue from the caregiver and care recipient about what support is actually needed each week.

The message from Sheila was clear. Be gently persistent before a crisis happens. “Don’t give up! Leave the door open for the reluctant caregiver or care recipient to change his or her mind.

Photo L to R: Doris Green, Director NYSRCC, Sheila, Sharon Cackett, and Eve Moses, Caregiving Coordinator Lifespan

When you’re aging alone,

who will take care of you if you get sick?

This story from the Washington Post, mentions STC, published after the deadline for our last Newsletter, highlights an issue that touches people who live alone and/or have no family nearby.

Click here to read it online .

Click here to download it as a PDF .